Mariners, Seahawks, Sonics, Canucks, and any other sports tidbits we deem to be worthy. Or other stuff.All this from the minds of two former residents of the humble town of Bremerton, Washington.Cast: David (Bremerton WA), Jeremy (2003-2007).(post times Pacific, like Bremerton)

Saturday, August 05, 2006

AT A TWO-THIRDS PACE

Well, fans, 108 games marks the two-thirds pole in the baseball season. Only a third of the baseball season is left, and what's always the case for me is at any number of points during the season, I look back and it feels like it just started yesterday.

Anyway, I took the lines of the Mariner hitters and starting pitchers and just extrapolated them to 162 games to see what they'd come up with. Ichiro's well on pace for over 200 hits, so no surprise there. Richie Sexson's not on pace to break 40 homers, but he is on pace for 36, which is incredible considering how bad of a slump he was in. We all know Raul Ibañez is already having a career year, and he's on pace to break his personal career high for homers by nine and his career high RBI mark by 25. As for Adrian Beltre, the 15 homers he'd have would be his lowest in a full season and his lowest since hitting 13 in 2001 (126 games). What's weird is that he's six away from his personal season best for doubles and he's on pace to break that by six. The weird is that he had his career high in doubles last year. His 71 RBIs would also be his lowest in a full season and lowest since 2001. He's also on pace for his second-highest single-season stolen base total of his career. Just some very odd things, really. Who can forget about the great things Kenji Johjima and Yuniesky Betancourt have done for the bottom third of the lineup? Those would be some impressive totals at the end of the season if they had them.

Needless to say, Adam Jones' numbers as well as those of Greg Dobbs are irrelevant and skewed due to how late they joined the big club during the season, so all of their numbers will end up much bigger than what I have here. As for the bullpen, I left them off of this because I don't think it's really quantity in which I compare them, it's more based on ratios. Also, the starters add up to starting 163 games, which is only because I rounded everything except for the innings pitched up to whole numbers.

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post written by David, published at 11:47 AM

GAME 108: ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 2

In 25 words or less: The way I look at it, the Mariners have Saturday and Sunday to prove they're worth a damn. If not, bring on the Seahawks.

This one featured Barry Zito going up against Jarrod Washburn. Zito came in with an 11-2 career mark against the Mariners, including a 2-0 record this season. He had a 20-inning scoreless streak going against the Mariners. Willie Bloomquist came into the game 8-for-30 with a homer. However, Raul Ibañez came in at 7-for-42 against Zito. Washburn came in with a .231 opposing batting average against the Oakland roster. The Mariners had to get a win against Oakland because, well, they came in winless in nine tries against them. If the Mariners had merely been a .500 team against the A's, they might be leading the division right now. Worse yet, the thing that really bothers me about this is that the Mariners don't just go down to the House of Horrors in the East Bay and lose, they can't beat Oakland in Seattle, either. To me, this kind of domination is harkening back to my youth. I have one instance in particular where I was home as a youngster listening to a weekday afternoon game in the summer and the Mariners were in Oakland and Dennis Eckersley came in and I might as well have not listened to the ninth inning at all. Coming back to today, this crap against Oakland has got to stop.

TOP 1STJason Kendall popped to Lopez in shallow right. Mark Kotsay slapped the second pitch into left for a single. Milton Bradley popped the first pitch to Ichiro running in foul ground to make the catch just in front of the stands. Frank Thomas was up 2-0 before flying out to Sexson in foul ground on the right side. Washburn threw 12 pitches.

BOTTOM 1STIchiro rolled to the hole on the right side, but Ellis made the play to first. Jose Lopez was ahead 3-0 and hit a full-count pitch for a drive to left, but it went to Kielty in fairly deep left for a mere flyout. Adrian Beltre walked on four pitches. Raul Ibañez whiffed on a 2-2 slider down and away. Zito threw 18 pitches.

TOP 2NDJay Payton was ahead 2-0 and dumped a 2-2 pitch into rightcenter for a base hit, and Bloomquist threw quickly back to second, but Betancourt tried to make the tag on Payton before he had the ball, so Payton had the double. Eric Chavez popped the first pitch to Lopez in shallow right. Bobby Kielty looked like he got all of the first pitch, but it merely took Bloomquist to the annoying Nikon sign in leftcenter. Marco Scutaro walked on four pitches. Mark Ellis took a 1-2 pitch barely off the inside corner before drilling a full-count pitch through the left side for a single, scoring Payton and moving Scutaro to second. It didn't help that the throw home from Ibañez was halfway up the line. »» ATHLETICS 1, MARINERS 0Kendall took a 3-1 pitch barely off the inside corner and low, loading the bases. Kotsay rolled the first pitch to short, and Betancourt underhanded to a covering Lopez at second. Washburn threw 23 pitches and had 35 through two.

BOTTOM 2NDRichie Sexson grounded hard to third on the second pitch. Eduardo Perez laced a second-pitch curve past Scutaro at short and into left for a single. Kenji Johjima was down 0-2 and had a mighty swing on a 2-2 pitch that he hit off the end of the bat and dumped into shallow left for a single, moving Perez to second. Yuniesky Betancourt grounded hard to third to start a 5-4-3 double play. Zito threw 13 pitches and had 31 through two.

TOP 3RDBradley rolled the first pitch to Sexson a ways off the bag at first, and luckily Washburn barely beat Bradley to the bag at first. Thomas was up 3-0 before lining out to left on a 3-1 pitch. Payton was down 0-2 and ended up foul-tipping a 2-2 pitch into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Washburn threw 13 pitches and had 48 through three.

BOTTOM 3RDWillie Bloomquist was down 0-2 and rolled a 2-2 pitch toward the hole on the left side, and he beat out the throw from Scutaro, who was a bit slow coming up with the ball. Ichiro stroked a single over the middle into center, moving Bloomquist to center. Lopez bunted the first pitch barely foul on the third-base side, pulled back on a called strike, then ended up chopping up the middle to Ellis, who was led to the bag by the ball, stepped on it, and threw to first for the double play, moving Bloomquist to third. Beltre worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Ibañez slapped a 2-0 outside pitch into left for a single, scoring Bloomquist and moving Beltre to second. »» ATHLETICS 1, MARINERS 1Sexson popped the second pitch high to short. Zito threw 25 pitches and had 56 through three.

TOP 4THChavez laid the barrel on a 1-2 hanging pitch, singling into center. Kielty pounded the first pitch past Betancourt at short and through to left for a single, moving Chavez to second. Scutaro drove a fly ball to deep left, where Ibañez never got moved enough to his left and the ball bounced toward the wall for a double, scoring Chavez and moving Kielty to third. »» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 1Ellis took the first pitch off his back, loading the bases. Kendall one-hopped the second pitch right to second for a 4-6-3 double play, scoring Kielty. »» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 1Kotsay popped the first pitch to left. Washburn threw 17 pitches and had 65 through four.

BOTTOM 4THPerez popped a 2-2 pitch to center. Johjima worked an 0-2 count for a walk. Betancourt bounced a second-pitch curve through the left side for a single, moving Johjima to second. Bloomquist whiffed on an 0-2 curve. Ichiro one-hopped the first pitch right to first. Zito threw 18 pitches and had 74 through four.

TOP 5THBradley worked a 1-2 count for a ten-pitch walk. Thomas bounced right to third for a 5-4-3 double play. Payton flew out to right. Washburn threw 15 pitches and had 80 through five.

BOTTOM 5THLopez bounced an 0-2 pitch deep into the right-side hole, where Ellis ranged over trying to make a play and couldn't throw over in time. Beltre whiffed on a hit-and-run and Lopez was thrown out at second, though on a throw way wide of second, but Lopez kinda ran into the tag. Beltre ended up rolling out to short on a 2-2 pitch. Ibañez popped out to center. Zito threw 12 pitches and 86 through five.

TOP 6THChavez grounded a 2-2 pitch to first. Kielty popped to shallow right. Scutaro bounced the first pitch for a single up the middle and into center. Ellis lined out to left. Washburn had 92 through six.

BOTTOM 6THSexson popped the first pitch to right. Perez rolled a 3-1 pitch to short. Johjima worked a 1-2 count full and looped a fly ball toward the leftfield line, where Kielty made the sliding catch. Zito threw 14 pitches and had 100 through six.

TOP 7THKendall a pitch so far inside he was hit. Kotsay took the first pitch and it went off Johjima's glove (passed ball) and behind him, moving Kendall to second. Kotsay flew out to left on a 1-2 pitch. Bradley grounded a 2-0 pitch hard to third as Kendall held at second. Thomas punched a 1-2 pitch through the left side for a single on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, scoring Kendall. Mike Hargrove visited the mound, but didn't come with the hook. »» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 1Payton popped the second pitch to shallow right.

BOTTOM 7THBetancourt grounded to third on the second pitch. Bloomquist flew out a few feet short of the track in center. Ichiro had the hitters' counts and rode a 3-1 pitch to the track in center, where Payton made a semi-leaping catch and had a soft meeting with the wall. Zito threw nine pitches and had 109 through seven.

TOP 8THJake Woods came in for Washburn. Chavez took a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Kielty rolled to Sexson behind the bag at first (3-1 putout).

Julio Mateo came in for Woods. Scutaro drove the second pitch above the cameraman in leftcenter and into the visitors' bullpen. »» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 1Ellis worked a 1-2 count full before popping to Betancourt in shallow center. Mateo threw ten pitches.

BOTTOM 8THKotsay moved to center, Payton moved to left, Nick Swisher came in to play left, and Justin Duchscherer came in for Zito. Lopez smacked the second pitch into left for a single. Beltre rolled to second, where Ellis screened Lopez coming down the line and tagged him, then threw to first for the double play. Ibañez rolled out to short. Duchscherer threw nine pitches.

TOP 9THSean Green came in for Mateo. Kendall lined out to Ichiro on the second pitch. Kotsay chopped a 2-2 pitch to Beltre on the left side, who spun and threw to first. Bradley scorched the second pitch to third, where it ate up Beltre and bounced behind him, where Betancourt had no play. Thomas drove the first pitch to deep leftcenter, where Bloomquist went over to make the catch. Green threw 11 pitches.

BOTTOM 9THSexson cranked the first pitch into the visitors' bullpen to give the crowd a morsel to cheer about. Pitching coach Kurt Young visited the mound. »» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 2Ben Broussard, hitting for Perez, was up 2-0 and whiffed over a 2-2 breaking ball away. Johjima whiffed on a 2-2 fastball down and away. Betancourt popped to Ellis near the tarp in foul ground on the right side.

Gameball: Jake Woods.Not really much to work with for this game in terms of gameballs. Jose Lopez would have been the obvious choice, but even he grounded into a key double play in the early innings when the Mariners had ample chances to score. For the record, the Mariners grounded into three double plays in the game. Woods, however, hasn't gotten much time on the mound this season other than when it's garbage time one way or the other. Lately, though, Woods has showed up in more later-inning situations and hasn't been completely horrible, which might be a good thing since the Mariner bullpen did lose a lefty arm when Eddie Guardado was traded off to the Reds. Of course, now that more than likely means someone else has to be the garbage-time guy out of the bullpen. Rafael Soriano's back at the expense of Emiliano Fruto, so it's not Fruto. I'd have to say the garbage-time guy right now is Sean Green, who also pitched in this game. Woods is like a slow and less infuriating version of Matt Thornton. He's the weakest link in the bullpen, but doesn't completely lose it like Thornton used to do.

Goat: Jarrod Washburn.I really didn't like the Washburn signing last winter, and I think quite a lot of people out there shared my opinion. There have only been one or two times this year after a Washburn performance where I thought, hey, maybe this has a chance of actually working out. Washburn averages 6 1/3 innings per start and yields an average of 3.3 runs (3.1 earned) on 6.5 hits and walks 1.8 batters and strikes out 3.4 per start. This is the 2/3-point of the season and Washburn is on pace to give up eight more homers, which would put him at 24 for the season, his third-most homer-friendly season of his career, which is ironic since the Safe is a lot more pitcher-friendly than the place in Anaheim. The good news, I guess, is that he's on pace to throw 205 2/3 innings, which is good and bad. Good because he's guaranteed about six innings every time he goes out there, but bad because every inning he throws makes me feel like Eddie Guardado's on the mound. I really don't feel safe with Washburn on the mound. The famous rip is that Washburn's only had one good year, the World Series year, where he was 18-6 with the 3.15 ERA and everything. His only other winning seasons have been 2001 when he was 11-10 and 2004, when he was 11-8, which are hardly sparkling records.

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post written by David, published at 10:19 AM

Thursday, August 03, 2006

'HAWK TALK, NOT A LOT OF ACTION

In the last 100 posts of Sports And Bremertonians, only five of them are mine.

That's what happens when you have a life. The days of posting multiple times in a day are long gone. And that's a good thing. But I have time to at least give you my thoughts on the 2006 Seahawks as training camp has opened in my former home of a year, Cheney.

---Darryl Tapp is this year's Lofa Tatupu. Now, don't expect him to be a starter like Lofa was in his first season, but Tapp will make an impact on the Seahawks' defensive line. He comes from a very fine defensive school in Virginia Tech and knows what it takes to win. Point being, he's a Tim Ruskell guy. As for guys who aren't Ruskell guys...

---Anthony Simmons has officially retired. He had been signed by the New Orleans Saints during the spring, but had not reported to their camp in Mississippi. Potential can be a very dirty word sometimes and when it comes to Simmons, it's unfortunate that he never fully realized his potential in the NFL. Sure, when he was healthy Simmons was a solid player. But that's the problem, he wasn't healthy enough to be what he should have been when the Seahawks selected him in the first round in 1998. In addition, Simmons was part of the mediocre culture that existed in Seahawks land before Ruskell came aboard. There is no such thing as "mediocre culture" anymore in Kirkland. And thank God for that.

---Darrell Jackson will not play for the Seahawks until their third exhibition game in San Diego Aug. 26 as he is recovering from knee surgery performed during the offseason. It was Jackson's second surgery since last October, when he injured his right knee against the Redskins in Week 4. D.J Hackett will miss 2-3 weeks with a strained right hamstring which occurred on Wednesday. The injury bug with the receivers doesn't stop with D-Jack and Big Play D.J. as Jerramy Stevens isn't expected to play for a few more weeks since he is still recovering from his own knee surgery, but on his left knee.

If the Seahawks want to contend once again in the NFC, they will need these three guys. Of course, it is important to note that when Jackson missed 10 games in 2005, the Seahawks were 9-1. Nevertheless, as we saw during the playoffs last year, this team is better with Jackson in the lineup.

---NFL officials visited Cheney today. Led by head official Ed Hochuli, the officials were in camp for a visit to explain the new rules changes and to answer players' and coaches' questions. (Yes, Super Bowl XL is still a sore spot. But with the new season rapidly approaching, it's best to not bring up that game too much. Jerome Bettis is still from Detroit, however.)

By the way, I will never look at Hochuli in the same away again after my friend did a spot-on impression of him last season. When Hochuli makes a holding call, it's almost like he's flexing to the crowd. "HOLDING!" (flexes arm). Hysterical.

---Madden NFL 2007 comes out Aug. 22. Shaun Alexander is on the cover. I did a post on the "Madden Jinx" two years ago. If there's one guy that will shut everybody up about the "Madden Jinx", it's Shaun. Of course, I'm biased. But still...

---I'm waiting for the announcement that ESPN is going to change their name to ESTO. As in E-S-Terrell-Owens. The Cowboys are not going to make the playoffs this year. But the 'Boys will still get more coverage because they're "America's Team". If there's one thing to like about being a Seattle sports fan, it's that America isn't going to all of a sudden fall in love with your teams. Except the 1995 Mariners, but even then, it wasn't too much, because the Internet was still in its infancy. Remember ESPN SportsZone? Yeah. Oh, and AOL Baseball Chats. Jesus, now I'm going way back. Enough.

---The 2005 NFC Championship DVD is finally out. I have my copy already. NFL Films has never been this good to the Seahawks. By all means, get it. Once David gets his copy, I'll do a review on the DVD here at Sports And B's. That's if David gets it by the middle of the month. After August 15, well, I'm a busy man again. Such is life.

Since I'm not as active here as I used to be, I'll give a belated welcome to Field Gulls, the newest Seahawks blog in the blogosphere. Field Gulls is a part of the SB Nation. Full disclosure: David and I had seriously considered to move the Seahawks portion of our site over to the SB Nation, but decided against it, because of jobs/school. But nevertheless, welcome Field Gulls. The more Seahawks blogs, the better.

Oh, and there's one more thing I have to bring up before this post is published:

I'm going to St. Louis Oct. 15 to see the Seahawks take on the Rams! It's been long overdue, but this year was the best year for me to go up there. It's now or never, really. So there you go, one-half of Sports And B's will be in the Edward Jones Dome on Oct. 15.

That's all for now. I'll have at least 2-3 more posts until school starts once again. I can promise our loyal readers that much.

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post written by Jeremy, published at 8:30 PM

GAME 107: MARINERS 2, ORIOLES 1

[posted in full Sun 13 Aug ~5a]

In 25 words or less: No, really. A win against a lefthanded starter. Unfortunately, also a 2-1 game that broke the three-hour mark.

This one featured Felix Hernandez going up against Erik Bedard. The temperature at game time was a mere 102 degrees. Bedard hadn't lost since June 11. The Mariners hoped to not start the month with a second straight loss to the Orioles. Why? Augusts past for the Mariners have usually been rough, and to start it off with two losses really would not be good considering the upcoming weekend series against the Oakland A's, the biggest series of the year to date for the Mariners. A win would bring them within one game of .500 going into the series, and with the Mariners having Oakland between them and climbing back over .500 if they swept, hopefully that'd be enough motivation for the Mariners to take the field and play like a highly motivated team. Still, however, this final game in the series at Baltimore had to be played.

TOP 1STIchiro flew out to right on the first pitch. Jose Lopez shot a single through the left side. Adrian Beltre reached out on a 2-2 pitch and put it seven rows into the seats in leftcenter (370 feet), scoring Lopez and putting Beltre into double digits in homers for the year. »» MARINERS 2, ORIOLES 0Raul Ibañez foul-tipped a full-count pitch into R Hernandez' glove behind the plate. Richie Sexson was up 3-0 but ended up rolled a 3-1 pitch to short. Bedard threw 25 pitches.

BOTTOM 1STBrian Roberts rolled the second pitch to second. Brandon Fahey lined out softly to short on the second pitch. Melvin Mora dropped the second pitch into shallow center for a single. Miguel Tejada grounded the second pitch hard to Sexson nearly on the bag at first. F Hernandez threw eight pitches.

TOP 2NDEduardo Perez shot the second pitch through the left side for a single. Yuniesky Betancourt hit the first pitch for a sinking liner that was caught in rightcenter by Markakis. Rene Rivera whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball in the dirt. Willie Bloomquist tried bunting the first pitch, but it was a bit too hard and went foul halfway down the line. Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 before flying out to right on a 1-2 pitch. Bedard threw 11 pitches and had 36 through two.

BOTTOM 2NDJay Gibbons popped to shallow left on the second pitch. Jeff Conine worked a 1-2 count full before bouncing out to second. Corey Patterson took a belt-high 2-2 pitch for strike three. F Hernandez threw 14 pitches and had 22 through two.

TOP 3RDIchiro popped out to Tejada drifting into shallow center on the first pitch. Lopez reached and looped a single into shallow center. Beltre popped a 1-2 pitch high to center. Ibañez walked on a 3-1 pitch, moving Lopez to second. Sexson worked an 0-2 count full but took a sweeping curve for strike three. Bedard threw 20 pitches and had 56 through three.

BOTTOM 3RDRamon Hernandez worked an 0-2 count full before lining a solid single into shallow center. Nick Markakis rolled a 1-2 pitch to second, where Lopez threw quickly to Betancourt at short, but Betancourt's throw was barely late. Roberts stuck the second pitch through the right side for a single, moving Markakis to second. Fahey fouled off three pitches and whiffed at the fourth, a wicked curve. Mora walked on four pitches to loaded the bases. Tejada bounced an 0-2 pitch to second. Hernandez threw 26 pitches and had 48 through three.

TOP 4THPerez grounded hard to third on the first pitch. Betancourt was down 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch to short, nearly beating it out. Rivera chopped the second pitch high to Bedard off the mound, who threw very hard and low to first, and it went off Conine's glove (Conine got the error), enabling Rivera to reach. Bloomquist grounded hard to third, where Mora went to a knee to make the stop on his backhand side and quickly threw to second for the out on Rivera. Bedard threw 11 pitches and had 67 through four.

BOTTOM 4THGibbons was up 3-1 before walking on a full-count high fastball that went off of Rivera's glove and took a bite out of plate umpire Mark Wegner, hitting him in the arm and chest. Conine chopped a 2-2 pitch to second to start a 6-4-3 double play. Patterson lasered a 2-2 pitch past a diving Sexson and down the line for a triple, and the fact that the ball buried itself between the padding and the warning track helped Patterson out as well. R Hernandez rolled the second pitch up the middle to Betancourt ranging to his right. F Hernandez threw 18 pitches and had 66 through four.

TOP 5THIchiro bounced a 2-2 pitch to the right side, where Roberts threw to a covering Bedard at first as Conine was caught in between on the play and first-base umpire Marvin Hudson may have blown the call. Lopez bounced the first pitch to third. Beltre was down 0-2 and failed to check a swing on a 1-2 curve that bounced about two feet in front of the plate. Beltre was a bit miffed that an appeal to the first-base umpire was not granted. Bedard threw 12 pitches and had 79 through five.

BOTTOM 5THMarkakis grounded out to second. Roberts took a 2-2 curve for strike three that Roberts thought went around the plate. Fahey whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. F Hernandez threw 12 pitches and had 78 through five. Kudos to MLB.tv's archived feed of this half-inning, which played the TV audio of the Comcast SportsNet crew and showed video feed telling me a commercial break was in progress when actual gameplay was occurring. Combined with the fact that the video feed wouldn't last more than five minutes without resetting and me having to find my place again, it's a good thing I'm getting my money's worth out of MLB.tv this year. Just like all those games without the on-screen graphics give it that vintage feel. Yes, I'm trying to say it's been a lot more of a pain in the ass this year. Come on, MLB.tv.

TOP 6THIbañez was up 3-0 and ended up walking on a 3-1 fastball away. Sexson whiffed on a 2-2 fastball. Perez walked on four pitches (Bedard took issue with the 2-0 and 3-0 pitches), moving Ibañez to second.

Julio Mañon came in for Bedard. Betancourt popped the second pitch to fairly deep center, allowing Ibañez to tag and advance to third. Rivera flew out on a 2-2 pitch, taking Markakis a couple strides short of the rightfield track.

BOTTOM 6THMora got ahead 2-0 and ended up walking on a full-count fastball up and in. Tejada took the first pitch up and in en route to walking on four pitches (pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited before the 3-0 pitch), moving Mora to second.

Mark Lowe came in for F Hernandez. Gibbons knocked the second pitch up the middle and past a diving Lopez into center for a single, scoring Mora and moving Tejada to second. »» MARINERS 2, ORIOLES 0Conine whiffed on a full-count slider. Patterson splintered his bat on the second pitch, softly lining it to second, where Lopez quickly tossed to Betancourt at the second-base bag to double off Tejada. Lowe threw ten pitches.

TOP 7THChris Britton came in for Mañon. Bloomquist walked on four pitches. Ichiro scorched an 0-2 pitch, lining to a diving Mora at third, who snap-threw to first to nearly double off Bloomquist. Lopez watched a first-pitch pitchout and R Hernandez threw the ball high and into centerfield as Bloomquist had second easily. Lopez flew out high to Markakis in rightcenter on a 2-2 pitch. Beltre got under the first pitch, flying out high to center. Britton threw 13 pitches.

BOTTOM 7THR Hernandez was down 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 fastball. Markakis lined a single over Lopez and into right. Roberts got behind 0-2 and with the count 1-2, Lowe made a pickoff attempt into the runner at first, and it got past Sexson and into foul territory, and Markakis had to fight through Sexson's screen and advance to second. On the next pitch, Roberts took the next pitch off the outside corner for strike three. Fahey walked on four pitches. Mora bounced the second pitch to third, where Beltre shorthopped it and took it to the third-base bag to force out Markakis. Lowe threw 19 pitches and had 29 total.

TOP 8THAs the Orioles took the field, Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo and Roberts were tossed from the game by plate umpire Wegner. Chris Gomez came in to play second. Ibañez popped an 0-2 pitch lazily to center. Sexson popped the second pitch very high to Tejada on the foul side of the leftfield line. Perez popped a 1-2 pitch to Mora on the infield grass.

TOP 9THTodd Williams came in for Britton. Betancourt rolled the second pitch to second. Rivera bounced to a charging Mora on the left side. Bloomquist knocked a full-count pitch up the middle for a single.

Tim Byrdak came in for Williams. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and ended up rolling a 2-2 pitch through the right side for a single, moving Bloomquist to third.

Chris Ray came in for Byrdak. Lopez grounded the second pitch to Mora behind the bag at third.

BOTTOM 9THPatterson bounced the second pitch to second, where Lopez bobbled it a tiny bit, but put enough on the throw to get Patterson at first. R Hernandez grounded to Betancourt, who made a backhand play in the hole at short and used some of Sexson's height as the throw made Sexson srtetch. Markakis whiffed on an 0-2 fastball up and away.

Gameball: Jose LopezOkay, I think he's out of that funk that he was in after the birth of Jose Jr. In his past four games, he's gone 9-for-19 (.474), with four RBIs and oddly with exactly zero extra-base hits. As I've said quite a few times, Lopez' month of May is what landed him in the All-Star game, not the month of June and hitting third, though that did correlate with the team catching fire. He's gone 50-for-187 (.267) with ten doubles, two triples, one homer, 20 RBIs, ten walks, and 28 strikeouts. In May, he was 33-for-114 (.289) with three doubles, three triples, four homers, 25 RBIs, four walks, and 11 strikeouts. In a revelation that should surprise absolutely nobody, May's Jose Lopez is not the usual Jose Lopez. Normal Jose Lopez is much closer to what we've seen the last couple months than what we saw in June. One question I'll still be asking months after the season is over is whether moving Lopez to third and Adrian Beltre to the second spot in the lineup that was held by Lopez was the right thing to do. Was it right to warm up Beltre at the expense of Lopez? Has this stunted the growth of Lopez as a hitter? Let's hope not.

Goat: Richie Sexson.In a low-scoring game such as this, one might hope that a Sexson can get a hold of one, especially with the money being thrown his way. Of course, the Mariners knew what they were getting into when they signed him, and knew there would be games like this. Using what I said a couple sentences ago, the game was probably low-scoring because Sexson didn't do anything, so it's probably not that Sexson didn't do anything in a low-scoring game...kind of like a chicken-or-egg thing there. Sexson hasn't recorded a hit since homering in the eighth inning of the first game of this series to give the Mariners an insurance run, making in 6-4 as the Mariners went on to score three more runs in the inning. Sexson since has gone 0-for-8, striking out twice. After hitting .255 in June with eight homers and 26 RBIs, Sexson hit .244 with nine homers and 17 RBIs in July. He hasn't been hitting quite as well averagewise as he has in years past, but those last two months are almost vintage Sexson in terms of power numbers. His numbers might be incredible now if he wasn't so brutal in April and May.

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post written by David, published at 5:48 AM

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

GAME 106: ORIOLES 2, MARINERS 0

[posted in full Sun 13 Aug ~4:24a]

In 25 words or less: The Mariners didn't save any runs from the day before, hanging Jamie Moyer out to dry once again.

This one featured Jamie Moyer going up against Rodrigo Lopez. The temperature at game time in Baltimore was a mere 100 degrees. The Mariners hoped to climb to .500 with a win. Note that when the Mariners were getting warm in June, they got to within a game of .500 and lost the next two games before winning the following five to reach their high-water mark of the season at 41-39. Also, a win would have won the series in Baltimore for the Mariners, which is always nice. It also would have been nice to have a win heading into Wednesday's day game of Felix Hernandez against Erik Bedard, a game where hopefully Felix strikes out ten guys and gets into the eighth inning. The fact that I'm mentioning where the Mariners are recordwise and actually caring about it is that thanks to the division sucking and the Mariners not completely sucking, we as Mariner fans are seeing meaningful baseball in August for the first time in three years. O how I missed it so! Now let's hope it lasts into September. I almost can't bring myself to realize that one of these AL West teams is going to make it to the playoffs.

TOP 1STIchiro tapped the second pitch back to the mound. Jose Lopez rolled the second pitch to short. Adrian Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 fastball way outside. R Lopez threw eight pitches.

BOTTOM 1STBrian Roberts spanked the first pitch into right for a single, and Ichiro muffed it for his second error of the season, moving Roberts to second. Melvin Mora watched the second pitch as Roberts easily stole third on a late throw from Johjima. Mora lined a 1-2 pitch into center just in front of Jones to score Roberts. »» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 0Miguel Tejada rolled a 2-0 pitch to second, where Lopez didn't get the ball out very quickly and started what still should have been a double play, but I think Mark Wegner blew the call at first. Jeff Conine grounded the second pitch hard to third to start what should have been another double play, though Beltre waited a fraction of a second before throwing, possibly to let Lopez to cover second as Conine reached. Javy Lopez grounded the second pitch to a diving Beltre at third. Moyer threw 13 pitches.

TOP 2NDRaul Ibañez grounded to second on the second pitch. Richie Sexson popped a 2-0 pitch very high to Roberts moving back into shallow rightcenter. Ben Broussard took a 1-2 fastball down the pipe. R Lopez threw nine pitches and had 17 through two.

BOTTOM 2NDKevin Millar popped to center on a 2-2 pitch. Corey Patterson popped to Beltre on the infield grass. Fernando Tatis missed a homer by about a foot in front of the bullpen in leftcenter on the first pitch, a hanger. Nick Markakis fell behind 0-2 before grounding to Lopez on the outfield grass on the right side (2-2 pitch). Moyer threw 16 pitches and had 29 through two.

TOP 3RDKenji Johjima flew out to Roberts in shallow right on a 2-0 pitch. Yuniesky Betancourt bounced the second pitch to third. Adam Jones whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. R Lopez threw 11 pitches and had 28 through three.

BOTTOM 3RDRoberts grounded out to third. Mora flew out lazily to right on the second pitch. Tejada stroked the second pitch into shallow rightcenter for a single, but he tried to stretch it into a double and was thrown out easily by Jones. Moyer threw eight pitches and had 37 through three.

TOP 4THIchiro lined out right to Mora at third. Jose Lopez whiffed on an 0-2 fastball way outside. Beltre bounced an 0-2 pitch over the mound and Roberts ranged over to try to make a play, but Roberts threw it way over everything and off the roof of the dugout (error, out of play), moving Beltre to second. Ibañez bounced to second on the second pitch. R Lopez threw 11 pitches and had 39 through four.

BOTTOM 4THConine worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Javy Lopez whiffed on a 2-2 change on the outer half. Millar flew out to Ibañez a few steps short of the leftfield track on the second pitch. Patterson grounded to first on the second pitch. Moyer threw 16 pitches and had 53 through four.

TOP 5THSexson bounced the first pitch to short. Broussard flew out to left, a couple steps short of the track. Johjima fell behind 0-2 but ended up poking a 1-2 pitch through the right side for a single. Betancourt chopped to third on an 0-2 pitch. R Lopez threw 13 pitches and had 52 through five.

BOTTOM 5THTatis grounded the first pitch to Betancourt in the hole at short, who made the strong throw to first. Markakis bounced to second on a 1-2 pitch. Roberts looped the first pitch for a flyout to shallow center. Moyer threw six pitches and had 59 through five.

TOP 6THJones was down 0-2 and ended up foul-tipping a 1-2 fastball up and in. Ichiro popped to Patterson in rightcenter on the first pitch. Jose Lopez tried to hold back his swing but couldn't on a nubber that stuck and rolled on the chalk on the first-base line for a single. Beltre was up 3-0 before popping a 3-1 pitch into rightcenter that was caught on the run by Markakis. R Lopez threw 14 pitches and had 66 through six.

BOTTOM 6THMora was ahead 3-1 before popping to shallow center on a full count. Tejada was up 2-0 before walking on a low full-count pitch. Conine popped to Ichiro on the rightfield track on the second pitch, but Tejada tagged and moved to second despite Ichiro's arm. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Javy Lopez took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Moyer threw 19 pitches and had 78 through six.

TOP 7THIbañez bounced an 0-2 pitch to short. Sexson bounced to a charging Mora at third. Broussard flew out just short of the rightfield track. R Lopez threw ten pitches and had 76 through seven.

BOTTOM 7THMillar was down 0-2 before whiffing on a 2-2 pitch (eighth pitch of at-bat). Patterson knocked the first pitch into right for a single. Tatis watched the second pitch go by and Patterson nabbed second as Johjima's throw one-hopped Betancourt in front of the bag at second, and Betancourt went hard after the runaway ball, keeping Patterson from advancing to second. Tatis was then intentionally walked. Markakis bounced a 2-0 pitch off the track and over the leftcenter wall for a double, scoring Patterson and moving Tatis to third. »» ORIOLES 2, MARINERS 0

George Sherrill came in for Moyer. Roberts popped the first pitch to Sexson in shallow right.

Julio Mateo came in for Sherrill. Mora flew out to right on a 2-0 pitch. Mateo threw three pitches.

TOP 8THJohjima poked a single through the left side. Betancourt flew out to left on the first pitch. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Jones, lined the second pitch into rightcenter but was robbed on a diving catch by Markakis.

Tim Byrdak came in for R Lopez. Ichiro grounded a 2-0 pitch to Roberts in the hole on the right side.

BOTTOM 8THWillie Bloomquist took over for Jones in centerfield, who was lifted for a pinch hitter. Tejada popped a 2-2 pitch to Betancourt in shallow center. Conine lined the first pitch into left for a single. Javy Lopez broke his bat and looped a weak pop to Jose Lopez on the first pitch. Millar flew out to Bloomquist in leftcenter on the second pitch.

TOP 9THChris Ray came in for Byrdak, Conine moved to first, Ramon Hernandez came in to catch, and Brandon Fahey came in to play left. Jose Lopez grounded an 0-2 pitch to first (3-1 putout) and lost the footrace with Ray to the first-base bag. Beltre flew out to right on an 0-2 pitch. Ibañez lined out to center as Patterson ran inward to make the catch.

Gameball: Julio Mateo.This year, he's been a shadow of himself. The Mateo of years past had come to be a money guy in long relief. If a Mariner starting pitcher couldn't get out of the sixth or crapped the bed and had a terrible start, Mateo could be counted on to bridge the game to the setup guy. He'd mostly been a long-relief guy, though lately Mike Hargrove has had him trying to get outs here and there, and later in the game than usual. Given the way Mateo has performed this year, it seems it would make sense to have Mateo throw in less key situations than usual, but Hargrove has done the exact opposite, and not usually with good results. In this game, however, Mateo allowed a hit only to Jeff Conine while setting down Melvin Mora, Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez, and Kevin Millar. It's amazing to think Mateo didn't allow a single run or a single hit in the month of May. He had five appearances that month, all in the latter third of the month after coming back from injury. His ERA by month: 7.11 in April, 4.32 in June, and 5.02 in July. If you look at his career starts, his ERA bounces back and forth from year to year. In even-numbered years, he has an icky ERA, whereas in odd-numbered years, he has an ERA in the low 3s. We are in 2006.

Goat: Ichiro.In four games, he has dropped his season average from .347 to .339. He ended up hitting only .317 in July, though our expectations would have to be absolutely nuts to expect a repeat or anything close to the .386 nuttiness he exhibited in the month of June. I've said many times that it's tough for this team to win when Ichiro isn't setting the table for the rest of the offense, and this game was no exception as he went 0-for-4 and the Mariners lost. The team has a record of 6-18 when Ichiro hangs up an 0-fer in the boxscore. It's times like this where I wish Ichiro was a centerfielder and could really show off his range, because earlier in the year I would use that argument to justify while I liked Jeremy Reed playing center even while his bat was on the fritz. Now that Ichiro is cooled off, I wish I could see that footspeed and range used to hunt down balls in the gaps. With Ichiro stuck in rightfield, we see some treacherous catches toward the stands sometimes, some sliding catches coming in, sure, but nothing as thrilling as it could be if Ichiro was in center and ran two-thirds of the way across the field to make a diving catch.

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post written by David, published at 2:26 AM

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

GAME 105: MARINERS 10, ORIOLES 5

[posted in full Fri ~12:33a]

In 25 words or less: For the second straight day, the Mariners' starting pitcher scuffles but their offense tags a late-inning reliever.

This one featured Gil Meche going up against Adam Loewen. The trade deadline came and went for both teams without much incident as Miguel Tejada remained with the Orioles and started in this game. The Mariners hoped to kick off the series with a win, which would be their third straight overall, their fourth win in five games, seventh in nine, and eighth in 11. A win would also get the Mariners within one game of .500, somewhere they haven't been since they were 42-43 when they lit fireworks after the game on July 4th, the middle game of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Angels in Anaheim. It was the third loss of a six-game losing streak.

TOP 1STIchiro got ahead 3-1 before whiffing on a full-count slowish ball down and in. Jose Lopez popped a 3-1 pitch to right. Adrian Beltre fell behind 0-2 before flying out high to right on a 1-2 pitch. Loewen threw 15 pitches.

BOTTOM 1STBrian Roberts crushed a high second-pitch fastball and put it just inside the rightfield foul pole and onto Eutaw Street, a 410-foot blast. »» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 0Brandon Fahey grounded to short on an 0-2 pitch. Melvin Mora worked a 1-2 count full before hitting a fly ball that went about seven rows into the leftfield seats. »» ORIOLES 2, MARINERS 0Miguel Tejada took an 0-2 curve barely outside before taking the next pitch more over the outside corner (pretty much the same pitch). Jay Gibbons popped high to first. Meche threw 19 pitches.

TOP 2NDRaul Ibañez popped a 2-2 pitch high to left. Richie Sexson bounced to a charging Mora at third. Eduardo Perez was down 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 breaking ball. Loewen threw 12 pitches and had 27 through two.

BOTTOM 2NDJeff Conine slapped a single into shallow center. Corey Patterson watched as Johjima blocked a second-pitch 55-foot breaking ball to keep Conine at first. Patterson ended up taking a 1-2 curve for strike three. Ramon Hernandez took a 1-2 deathly curve on the outer half for strike three. Nick Markakis got ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch outside, moving Conine to second. Roberts foul-tipped a 1-2 fastball into Johjima's glove. Meche struck out the side on 20 pitches and had 39 through two.

TOP 3RDKenji Johjima bounced out to third. Yuniesky Betancourt grounded a 2-0 pitch to third. Adam Jones whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball down and in. Loewen threw 11 pitches and had 38 through three.

BOTTOM 3RDFahey took a 3-1 pitch outside and went to first. Mora was down 0-2 before rolling a 2-2 pitch up the middle to Lopez behind the second-base bag, who dished to Betancourt, who threw to first, but Mora beat it out (6-4 fielder's choice). Tejada poked a full-count pitch under a diving Betancourt and into center for a single, moving Mora to third (he'd taken off with the pitch). Gibbons ripped a 2-0 pitch for homer distance, but it was foul to the right side. Gibbons ended up shattering his bat on a single to right, scoring Mora and moving Tejada to second. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. »» ORIOLES 3, MARINERS 0Conine grounded the first pitch to short to start an easy 6-4-3 double play. Meche threw 23 pitches and had 62 through three.

TOP 4THIchiro popped to Fahey along the leftfield line on a 2-0 pitch. Lopez bounced a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single, making him the first Mariner to reach base in the game. Beltre bounced the second pitch to short, where Tejada quickly turned and underhanded to Roberts at second to start the 6-4-3 double play. Loewen threw eight pitches and had 46 through four.

BOTTOM 4THPatterson tried drag-bunting the first pitch, but got it too close to the line and Sexson got the ball and tagged him before he could get to first. Hernandez worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing on a breaking ball. Markakis fell behind 0-2 and had his bat explode on a 2-2 pitch which he lined softly to Meche. Meche threw 16 pitches and had 78 through four.

TOP 5THIbañez worked a 1-2 count full before lining out to left. Sexson whiffed over a 1-2 breaking ball. Perez whiffed on an 0-2 fastball. Loewen threw 13 pitches and had 59 through five.

BOTTOM 5THRoberts skipped a 2-2 pitch into the hole on the right side, where Lopez ranged way over and threw to first, and Roberts barely beat it out for the single. Fahey bunted the first pitch along the left side, where Beltre made the play to first as Roberts moved to second. Mora had the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch in the dirt. Tejada bounced an 0-2 pitch to first, and Sexson threw to second, but Tejada beat out the back end of the double play, moving Roberts to third. Gibbons whiffed on an 0-2 curve down and in.

TOP 6THJohjima bounced to the left side, where Mora charged and barehanded and threw in time to first, which made the Web Gems segment on Baseball Tonight. Betancourt dropped the second pitch into shallow leftcenter for a single. Jones broke his bat on the first pitch and looped a single into center, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro lined out to left as the runners held. Lopez lined a 1-2 pitch into left to score Betancourt and move Jones to second. »» ORIOLES 3, MARINERS 1Beltre walked on four pitches, loading the bases. Ibañez drilled a 2-0 pitch into rightcenter for a single to score Jones and Lopez. »» ORIOLES 3, MARINERS 3Sexson rolled slowly to third on the second pitch. Loewen threw 23 pitches and had 82 through six.

BOTTOM 6THApparently Meche must have come out to warm up and Hargrove pulled the hook on Meche, though Comcast SportsNet might have run that part taped, I'm not sure.

Julio Mateo came in for Meche. Conine popped the second pitch to Johjima by the on-deck circle on the left side behind the plate. Patterson whiffed on a 2-2 pitch in the dirt. Hernandez chopped high in front of the plate to Johjima, who got to the ball and threw in time to first. Mateo threw ten pitches.

TOP 7THPerez ripped the first pitch into left for a single, and Fahey bobbled it (error), enabling Perez to move to second. Johjima shot the first pitch past Roberts at second and into center for a single, scoring Perez. »» MARINERS 4, ORIOLES 3

Julio Mañon came in for Loewen. Betancourt doubled into the leftfield corner, moving Johjima to third. Jones fell behind 0-2 before whiffing on a 2-2 belt-high fastball away. Ichiro was intentionally walked to load the bases. Lopez popped a 2-0 pitch high to third as the runners had to hold. Beltre reached and rolled over to ground to third, but Mora bobbled the ball and threw to second when he gathered himself, but the throw was late, scoring Johjima and leaving the bases loaded. »» MARINERS 5, ORIOLES 3Ibañez had the hitters' counts before reaching outside to ground to second.

BOTTOM 7THMarkakis got ahead 2-0 and Johjima came to the mound for a visit. Markakis spanked the next pitch into the bullpen in leftcenter. »» MARINERS 5, ORIOLES 4

George Sherrill came in for Mateo. Roberts worked a 1-2 count full and cranked a long foul ball before flying out to Ichiro in rightcenter. Fahey worked an 0-2 count full before foul-tipping a low fastball into Johjima's glove.

Mark Lowe came in for Sherrill. Mora fell behind 0-2 before taking a 2-2 fastball down over the outside corner.

TOP 8THEddy Rodriguez came in for Mañon. Sexson cranked a 1-2 pitch five rows into the seats in rightcenter. »» MARINERS 6, ORIOLES 4Perez walked on four pitches. Johjima roped the first pitch (hanging slider) ten rows into the leftfield seats. »» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 4Betancourt drove the second pitch to the wall in leftcenter for a double. Jones was up 3-1 before rolling to short on a full count, moving Betancourt to third. Ichiro grounded right to a drawn-in Conine at first, forcing Betancourt to hold at third. Lopez, however, stuck the first pitch over Tejada at short and into leftcenter for a single, scoring Betancourt. »» MARINERS 9, ORIOLES 4Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 high fastball. Rodriguez threw 25 pitches.

BOTTOM 8THEmiliano Fruto came in for Lowe. Tejada had the hitters' counts before walking on a full-count fastball away. Gibbons popped to Jones in rightcenter. Conine took the second pitch way outside and to the backstop, moving Tejada to second. Conine bounced to second, moving Tejada to third. Patterson tagged the first pitch into right for a single, scoring Tejada. »» MARINERS 9, ORIOLES 5Hernandez took the second pitch in the dirt and it went to the backstop, and Johjima casually went back to get the ball, but Patterson took advantage of that and scooted all the way to third. Hernandez took the next pitch as well, and it went off Johjima's glove, but didn't get far enough away to score Patterson. Hernandez ended up whiffing on a 2-2 fastball.

TOP 9THIbañez drove a 2-0 pitch and one-hopped it off the track and over the wall in leftcenter. Sexson took a 1-2 pitch way high and to the backstop, moving Ibañez to third. Sexson worked the count full and just got under it, flying out just short of the rightfield track, long enough for Ibañez to tag and score. »» MARINERS 10, ORIOLES 5Perez popped a 2-0 pitch to Hernandez on the right side in foul ground not far from the plate. Johjima popped high to Conine near the first-base coaches' box.

BOTTOM 9THJake Woods came in for Fruto. Markakis poked the first pitch up the middle for a single. Roberts popped high to Sexson near the first-base coaches' box. Fernando Tatis, hitting for Fahey, grounded the second pitch hard to second, where Lopez made the sliding stop and started the 4-6-3 double play.

Gameball: Raul Ibañez.Ibañez went 2-for-5 with a couple of RBIs and a double in this one. More importantly, he ended the month by hitting 6-for-13 with two doubles, a homer, a walk, and five RBIs in the final three games. He tacked six more points onto his season batting average in that span of time as well as five points onto his on-base and ten points onto his slugging mark. Though we all expected that Ibañez wasn't going to have a July anywhere close to what his June was, I don't know if I expected quite this much of a dropoff. He hit .326 in June and hit six doubles, a triple, and nine homers and he drove in 27 runs. He also slugged .695 and got on base at a .414 mark. Yes, those numbers are nuts. By comparison, his July was a whole lot of hitting .253 with six doubles, a triple, five homers, and driving in 21 runs. He slugged only .495 and had an on-base percentage of .284. Definitely related to that was that he walked 15 times in June and walked only five times in July. If Ibañez gets a little closer to his June performance in the next two months, it'd be grand for the Mariners. If he duplicates his June, well, I like the chances for this team.

Goat: Gil Meche.Okay, I know it was a scorching dripping wet time out there in Baltimore to be having a baseball game. Still, Meche is a southern guy and has definitely pitched in that before, so it's no complete mystery for him. So, when I see such a line as he had in this game, I don't really know where to take it. For all the talk of Meche becoming the top guy on the staff, it just so happens that, like a few people on the team, he had a much worse July than June. After sporting an insane 1.60 ERA in five starts and 33 2/3 innings in June, Meche had an icky ERA of 5.67 in six starts and 33 1/3 innings in July. Meche never gave up more than two runs in a game in June, but gave up at least two in every game in July. Of course, there was the clunker game where he bowed before Roy Halladay and got tattooed, and that was when he gave up seven runs on ten hits and couldn't get out of the fifth. Even with the brutal ERA in July, he did come away with a 2-1 record for the month, so I guess it's not all that bad. Meche did, however, set his season high for homers yielded in a month with six.

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post written by David, published at 2:00 AM

Sunday, July 30, 2006

MESSAGE FROM CARL EVERETT

Okay, so it's four days later, but I wanted this to be at the top of the page for at least a few hours before I buried it under game posts. Technically the first one is probably incorrect since he made a pretty penny this year even in a partial season with the Mariners. So I made the second one. I resisted using all his post-homer photos where he points to the sky.

Enjoy those, fellow Mariner fans.

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post written by David, published at 7:57 PM

GAME 104: MARINERS 7, INDIANS 3

In 25 words or less: The L in the boxscore goes to Fausto Carmona, but at least the W didn't go to Cliff Lee. Piñeiro continues to confound.

This one featured Joel Piñeiro going up against Cliff Lee. Lee came into the game with a 5-1 career record against the Mariners. Piñeiro is Piñeiro, so prospects for a win didn't look too great after the series had been evened on Saturday night. The Mariners looked to win this road series by winning the last two games of the set. Also, a win would make in their third in four games, sixth in eight, and seventh in ten. A win would take the Mariners to within two games of the .500 mark, a place they haven't been since they went to bed on the night of July 14th.

TOP 1STIchiro served a single into leftcenter. Jose Lopez was ahead 2-0 and laced a 2-2 pitch into center for a single to snap an 0-for-15 slump. Adrian Beltre bounced a 2-2 pitch through the left side for a single, scoring Ichiro and moving Lopez to second. Pitching coach Carl Willis came to the mound for a visit. »» MARINERS 1, INDIANS 0Raul Ibañez fouled an 0-2 pitch behind the plate that plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt took it off the left bicep and went down to a knee as his mask fell off. The Cleveland training staff and other umpires tended to him. Ibañez got a little too under another 0-2 pitch (hanging and breaking) and flew out to the track in right. Richie Sexson popped the first pitch high to second. Eduardo Perez whiffed on a low 2-2 fastball. Lee threw 24 pitches.

BOTTOM 1STGrady Sizemore was ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch down and away. Jason Michaels watched a 1-2 pitchout that was at the right time, but Rivera's throw was a bit late and Betancourt was a bit late to cover. Michaels worked the count full and punched a single through the left side, moving Sizemore to third. Travis Hafner bounced the first pitch to second for what nearly was a 4-6-3 double play, but Betancourt's throw one-hopped Sexson and was a bit wide (partially aided by a Michaels takeout slide), making it hard for Sexson to glove it as Sizemore scored. »» INDIANS 1, MARINERS 1Victor Martinez rolled to the hole on the right side, but Lopez had it go off the heel of his glove and he had no play, moving Hafner to second. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Casey Blake flew out to Jones in leftcenter as the runners held. Ronnie Belliard couldn't check his swing on a 1-2 pitch down and away. Piñeiro threw 24 pitches.

TOP 2NDYuniesky Betancourt hit a sinking liner into rightcenter that was speared by a diving Sizemore (of course). Rene Rivera popped an 0-2 pitch to Blake, who was closer to second than first. Adam Jones got ahead 3-1 and spanked a full-count pitch for a line drive into right that was caught by a sliding Choo. Lee threw 11 pitches and had 35 through two.

TOP 3RDIchiro rolled the second pitch to short. Lopez looped a full-count pitch into shallow left that could have been a single, but Inglett ranged back from short and reached back to catch it, sliding afterward. Beltre roped the first pitch to Sizemore on the track in leftcenter. Lee threw 11 pitches and had 46 through three.

BOTTOM 3RDSizemore fell behind 0-2 and drilled a 1-2 pitch off the wall (just missing a homer) near the rightfield corner for a double. Michaels lined a full-count pitch to Ichiro at the track in right, moving Sizemore to third. Hafner bounced the second pitch over the mound to Lopez, whose only play was to first as Sizemore scored. »» INDIANS 2, MARINERS 1Martinez grounded a 2-2 pitch to second. Piñeiro threw 19 pitches and had 54 through three.

TOP 4THIbañez smoked a double down the rightfield line and into the corner. Sexson crushed the second pitch about fourteen rows into the seats in leftcenter. »» MARINERS 3, INDIANS 2Perez popped to Boone on the infield grass near the mound. Betancourt popped the second pitch to Blake on the infield grass near the mound. Rivera fell behind 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch to Michaels on the leftfield track. Lee threw 15 pitches and had 61 through four.

BOTTOM 4THBlake ripped a 2-2 pitch into center for a single. Belliard stung the second pitch through the left side for a single, moving Blake to second. Choo walked on four pitches to load the bases. Rivera came out to the mound for a visit again, and it appeared the two having communication issues. Inglett rolled the first pitch to short, but it was hit slowly enough so Betancourt couldn't turn two, and he went straight to first. Belliard and Choo moved to third and second. »» INDIANS 3, MARINERS 3Boone grounded the first pitch to short, where Betancourt ran at Choo behind him, who was hung up as Belliard stayed at third. Sizemore walked on a full-count pitch up and away. Chaves came to the mound for another visit. Michaels bounced an 0-2 pitch to second. Piñeiro threw 22 pitches and had 76 through four.

TOP 5THJones flew out to right. Ichiro popped a 1-2 pitch to left. Lopez popped an 0-2 pitch high to Blake near the plate. Lee threw 11 pitches and had 72 through five.

BOTTOM 5THHafner whiffed on a 1-2 offspeed pitch away. Martinez failed to check his swing on a 2-2 pitch up and away. Blake popped to Ichiro on the track in right. Piñeiro threw 13 pitches and had 89 through five.

TOP 6THBeltre doubled just inside the third-base bag near the corner on the first pitch, where it was picked up by a fan. Ibañez popped the first pitch to third. Sexson worked an 0-2 count full and bashed a pitch foul past the leftfield foul pole. Sexson whiffed on a fastball up and away on the next pitch. Perez was intentionally walked. Betancourt tapped the second pitch back to the mound. Lee threw 15 pitches and had 87 through six.

BOTTOM 6THBelliard popped the second pitch to Lopez, who called for it at the last second. Choo whiffed on a 2-2 breaking pitch inside. Inglett lined the second pitch to Jones in center. Piñeiro threw nine pitches and had 98 through six.

TOP 7THRivera popped the first pitch to first. Jones tapped a 2-2 pitch to the mound. Hilariously on the incredibly hot day, the outfield sprinklers activated and the fans cheered. Ichiro flew out to left on the first pitch. Lee threw seven pitches and had 94 through seven.

BOTTOM 7THBoone popped the first pitch high to Jones in leftcenter. Sizemore popped a 2-0 pitch to left. Michaels grounded an 0-2 pitch to the hole on the right side, where Lopez made a sliding stop and threw in time to first. Piñeiro threw seven pitches and had 105 through seven.

BOTTOM 8THJake Woods came in for Piñeiro. Hafner worked an 0-2 count full and grounded a full-count pitch up the middle to Lopez, who had his throw beaten out by Hafner since his momentum took him away from first. Martinez grounded the first pitch up the middle to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Blake popped the first pitch to Sexson in foul ground on the right side. Woods threw eight pitches.

TOP 9THBen Broussard, hitting for Perez, walked on four pitches. Betancourt nicely bunted the second pitch along the first-base line, moving Broussard to second. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Rivera, smashed a grounder into the hole at short, where Inglett backhanded it, looked to third to see if he had a play on Broussard, then threw to first, but that look gave Dobbs enough time to beat out the throw. Kenji Johjima, hitting for Jones, grounded the second pitch right to third, where Boone threw home and Martinez threw the ball too early in the rundown on Broussard (who I wish would have held at third), which took a while (5-2-5-1-6) as Dobbs and Johjima ended up on third and second. Ichiro was intentionally walked. Lopez drilled the second pitch over Boone's glove and into left for a single, scoring Dobbs and Johjima. »» MARINERS 5, INDIANS 3Beltre was brushed back on a 1-2 pitch, then was hit in the arm on the next pitch, that grazed off his arm and got a good chunk of Martinez' left thigh as well. Ibañez bounced a 2-0 pitch through the right side for a single, scoring Ichiro and Lopez. »» MARINERS 7, INDIANS 3

Tom Mastny, making his Major League debut, came in for Carmona. Sexson smacked the second pitch right to Boone at third, who ran it to the third-base bag for the force on Beltre.

BOTTOM 9THJohjima stayed in the game to catch and Willie Bloomquist came in to play center for Jones, who was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Belliard bounced the second pitch up the middle past Betancourt's reach for a single. Jhonny Peralta, hitting for Choo, grounded the second pitch to the hole at short, where Betancourt made a diving stop to get to it, but he couldn't set himself on his rear to get off a good throw.

JJ Putz came in for Woods. Inglett was down 0-2 and looped a 2-2 pitch (tenth pitch of the at-bat) to left that dropped in front of Ibañez, who threw quickly to Beltre at third to force out Belliard. Todd Hollandsworth, hitting for Boone, slapped the second pitch and dropped it in front of Ibañez for a single to load the bases. Sizemore grounded the second pitch hard to second to start a 4-6-3 double play.

Gameball: Raul Ibañez.He had two great games to close out this Cleveland series. Combined, he went 4-for-8 with a double, a homer, and three RBIs. Today's game was the first game he had more than one RBI since the Evil Extra Inning Game in Toronto a couple weeks ago (the 15th) where he drove in four. Also, this was the first time Ibañez had back-to-back multi-hit games since he did so on May 31st and June 2nd in Texas and at home against the Royals. He homered in both of those games. After the first game of the series, Ibañez had a 9-for-50 (.180) mark since the All-Star break, but that's obviously now changed to 13-for-58 (.224) with four doubles, a triple, two homers, 12 RBIs, four walks, and ten strikeouts. In the last two days, he's picked up 28 points on his July on-base percentage and 50 points on his July slugging mark. He's put four points on his season on-base percentage and nine points on his season slugging mark in the same span. If you ask me, though, these last two games are exactly what Ibañez needed and they were exactly what I needed to see as well. Ditto that for Jose Lopez today too, who was the obvious gameball choice, but all of you know I don't do that here.

Goat: Adam Jones.I don't think this is one of the days where one of the Mariners is the worst guy on the field today. So I guess my rationale for putting Jones here is that he was the least best. He stuck out the least to me in the game, and it didn't help that he didn't reach base either. His line since being called up is 10-for-43 (.233) with two doubles, three RBIs, two walks, ten strikeouts, and he's 2-for-3 on steal attempts. He has three multi-hit games out of his thirteen games overall. He had consecutive multi-hit games in the final two games of the Boston series at home. Four of his ten strikeouts were in the middle game of the Toronto series at home, which was the Roy Halladay game and/or the Gil Meche Implosion game. Also, for being rushed (I think everyone can agree on that), he's been a pretty fast learner in centerfield. It can't be easy to take Jones out of his accustomed shortstop position and just throw him into centerfield whenever a Yuniesky Betancourt comes along and goes nuts at shortstop. Still, I think the future looks bright, and I think we're all Jonesing for more.